Can you draw a buzzy bee or an industrious ant?

CREATIVE children across East Anglia are being tasked with creating a ‘super-bug’ as part of celebrations for this year’s National Insect Week.

Organisers of the week, The Royal Entomological Society (RES), have launched a competition asking youngsters to use their imagination and come up with their very own insect ace.

And event sponsors, building materials company Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK, which has numerous sites across Norfolk and Suffolk including Mangreen, Trowse, Costessey, Snetterton, Barham and Higham, are backing the competition with a unique paperweight first prize featuring the winning creepy crawlie.

Entomologists have discovered, described and named nearly one million different insects but at least twice this number is thought to exist.

So children all over the UK are being invited to become an ‘inventomologist’ by entering the competition to design an insect of the future imagine what insect discovers of the future might look like.

Up for grabs as prizes as well as the paperweight from Lafarge are a pile of fun books and a giant discovery egg complete with lots of exciting activities for the successful entrant’s class.

National Insect Week co-ordinator Dr Luke Tilley said: “This is the fifth National Insect Week run by the RES and this year takes the theme, Great British Insects drawing inspiration from the celebrations for the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee of its patron the Queen.”

David Park, an ecologist and northern restoration manager for Lafarge, said: “We are thrilled to be sponsoring National Insect Week and look forward to a host of fun and successful events both during and in the run-up to the week from June 25 to July 1.

“While you wouldn’t necessarily link the building materials industry with protecting nature one of our priorities at Lafarge is to conduct our operations as sustainable and as environmentally responsible as possible and leave a positive lasting legacy.

“Before we begin to develop any quarry we carefully consider the future restoration of the land and work tirelessly, often with a range of partners, to ensure our finished sites are transformed into areas which are valuable to both the community and to nature.

“Many of our restored sites become nature reserves and provide a much wider and improved habitat for wildlife, including insects, than the landscape which existed prior to our extraction.

“Our award-winning track record includes managing two National Nature Reserves; managing, enhancing and safeguarding 34 Sites of Special Scientific Interest; and creating award-winning country parks, boating lakes, educational centres and places of national significance.

“In the UK we operate a approximately 200 locations and act as guardians and careful managers of over 16,000 hectares of land. This land includes operational sites, woodland, restored and virgin land, all with a diverse range of animal and plant life.

“Insects are fascinating creatures and are essential for a diverse and flourishing natural world. They are the first link in a chain which ensures the success and survival of all our flora and fauna and so it’s fantastic to celebrate them with National Insect Week.”

There are two age groups for the competition Key Stages 1 (4-6 years) and